. >> i do not think there was ever a country that was as unchallenged on two oceans as the united states. >> righto. >> once this emerged, and polk at this moment is a political has been. he had lost twice. he had a good career in the house, 14 years, speaker of the house for two terms. chairman of the ways and means committee. governor of tennessee. then he was-then he was defeated by a young upstart backwoodsman who was a backwoodsman. polk prided himself on his owledge and was very serious. jim jones was the tall guy from the back woods who ran rings around him in terms of the rhetoric of the campaign. he lost twice, so he was considered washed up. then this explosion occurred, and two very significant developments occurred. henry clay, who is going to be the wig presidential nominee, came out against the immediate annexation of texas. and martin van buren also did, and it weren't -- a ruin their careers. at the democratic convention in baltimore, then during could not get the nomination, and they needed a compromise candidate. james polk came out of the ashes of his career to get the